Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ALGIERS921
2008-08-20 10:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Algiers
Cable title:
ALGERIA SPEAKS OUT ON MAURITANIA COUP
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UNCLAS ALGIERS 000921
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MG AG
SUBJECT: ALGERIA SPEAKS OUT ON MAURITANIA COUP
REF: ALGIERS 906
UNCLAS ALGIERS 000921
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MG AG
SUBJECT: ALGERIA SPEAKS OUT ON MAURITANIA COUP
REF: ALGIERS 906
1. (U) MFA Minister-Delegate for Maghreb and African Affairs
Abdelkhader Messahel (U/S equivalent) met with Mauritanian
Special Envoy General Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed
during an August 13 meeting in which the General passed a
letter from coup leader General Abdelaziz addressed to
President Bouteflika. Algerian state television quoted MFA
officials who said Messahel underscored Algeria's opposition
to unconstitutional regime change and referred again to the
1999 decision adopted by the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) in Algiers (reftel). According to Algerian state news
and statements posted on the MFA's website, Messahel urged
his Mauritanian interlocutors to reinstate Mauritania's
constitutional institutions and seek a solution to the crisis
through dialogue and consultation. The ministry statement
added that Algeria viewed this approach as the only means to
preserve social cohesion as well as Mauritania's unity,
stability and security interests.
2. (U) Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci also publicly stated
Algeria's position on Mauritania during an August 14
interview on Algerian state radio. Asked about Algeria's
stance on the Mauritanian affair, Medelci prefaced his
comment by saying that as a member of the Arab Maghreb Union
(UMA),Algeria regarded Mauritania as "a sister country,"
adding that relations were "good at all levels." Medelci
went on to say that the August 13 visit of a Mauritanian
delegation gave Algeria the opportunity to convey its support
for previous OAU statements rejecting unconstitutional regime
change. The independent Algerian media portrayed both the
Messahel meeting and Medelci remarks in terms of the
"refusal" of President Bouteflika to receive the Mauritanian
envoy.
RELUCTANT HERO
--------------
3. (C) COMMENT: Medelci's and Messahel's remarks tracked
closely what MFA Africa Director Lounes Magramane told us on
August 13 (reftel). Based on Magramane's cool response to
our request for a public statement, however, it seems that
the arrival of the Mauritanian delegation prodded the
Algerians to repackage their passive position on AU and UMA
efforts for public consumption. Although Algeria's
statements on Mauritania prompted kudos from some Western
governments and regional observers interested in seeing
Mauritania's neighbors increase pressure on General
Abdelaziz, the irony of the Algerian government defending the
sanctity of constitutional rule did not escape Algeria's most
prominent political cartoonists. Ali Dilem's cartoon on
August 19 in the French-language daily Liberte depicted
Bouteflika lecturing Mauritania while holding a dossier for
his third term under the heading "Bouteflika is for the
respect of the (Mauritanian) constitution." The cartoonist
known as Le Hic took a similar jab at Bouteflika in his
August 17 entry in Le Soir d'Algerie when he portrayed an
irate Bouteflika refusing to recognize the Mauritanian coup
while standing flanked by a panel of grim-faced Algerian
generals.
DAUGHTON
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MG AG
SUBJECT: ALGERIA SPEAKS OUT ON MAURITANIA COUP
REF: ALGIERS 906
1. (U) MFA Minister-Delegate for Maghreb and African Affairs
Abdelkhader Messahel (U/S equivalent) met with Mauritanian
Special Envoy General Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed
during an August 13 meeting in which the General passed a
letter from coup leader General Abdelaziz addressed to
President Bouteflika. Algerian state television quoted MFA
officials who said Messahel underscored Algeria's opposition
to unconstitutional regime change and referred again to the
1999 decision adopted by the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) in Algiers (reftel). According to Algerian state news
and statements posted on the MFA's website, Messahel urged
his Mauritanian interlocutors to reinstate Mauritania's
constitutional institutions and seek a solution to the crisis
through dialogue and consultation. The ministry statement
added that Algeria viewed this approach as the only means to
preserve social cohesion as well as Mauritania's unity,
stability and security interests.
2. (U) Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci also publicly stated
Algeria's position on Mauritania during an August 14
interview on Algerian state radio. Asked about Algeria's
stance on the Mauritanian affair, Medelci prefaced his
comment by saying that as a member of the Arab Maghreb Union
(UMA),Algeria regarded Mauritania as "a sister country,"
adding that relations were "good at all levels." Medelci
went on to say that the August 13 visit of a Mauritanian
delegation gave Algeria the opportunity to convey its support
for previous OAU statements rejecting unconstitutional regime
change. The independent Algerian media portrayed both the
Messahel meeting and Medelci remarks in terms of the
"refusal" of President Bouteflika to receive the Mauritanian
envoy.
RELUCTANT HERO
--------------
3. (C) COMMENT: Medelci's and Messahel's remarks tracked
closely what MFA Africa Director Lounes Magramane told us on
August 13 (reftel). Based on Magramane's cool response to
our request for a public statement, however, it seems that
the arrival of the Mauritanian delegation prodded the
Algerians to repackage their passive position on AU and UMA
efforts for public consumption. Although Algeria's
statements on Mauritania prompted kudos from some Western
governments and regional observers interested in seeing
Mauritania's neighbors increase pressure on General
Abdelaziz, the irony of the Algerian government defending the
sanctity of constitutional rule did not escape Algeria's most
prominent political cartoonists. Ali Dilem's cartoon on
August 19 in the French-language daily Liberte depicted
Bouteflika lecturing Mauritania while holding a dossier for
his third term under the heading "Bouteflika is for the
respect of the (Mauritanian) constitution." The cartoonist
known as Le Hic took a similar jab at Bouteflika in his
August 17 entry in Le Soir d'Algerie when he portrayed an
irate Bouteflika refusing to recognize the Mauritanian coup
while standing flanked by a panel of grim-faced Algerian
generals.
DAUGHTON